Raul's Legacy

On Friday August 10^th in the evening, Pastor Raul Gosalvez went in for his 5^th surgery, and God took him home. Over a month ago Raul went in for what we all thought was a routine gall-bladder surgery, had complications, and was in intensive care for over a month before he went home to be with Jesus. Our church is in mourning, but the congregation has been brought together as we pray together, give together, cry together, walk together.

Raul was born in 1956 in the northern Bolivian state of Beni. His mother died when he was 2, and his father passed away when he was 12. But God used Guillermo and Dorothy Kirkendall, missionaries with Wycliffe Bilble Translators, who became adoptive parents for Raul. He worked with the Summer Institute of Linguistics as a translation helper, and then followed God’s call for further biblical training to become a pastor. Raul worked as a missionary pastor in the frontiers of Bolivia, planting churches in Bermejo, Villamontes, and Yacuiba before coming to Cochabamba to teach at the seminary, to pastor our church La Muyurina, and to become a national leader for pastors and churches. He leaves behind his wife Ruth of 24 years, and four children, Damaris, Abigail, Ariel, and Abner.

Raul’s life verse was Galatians 1:10 “Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of God.” He was not rich in material things, never owned his own home, or his own car, but his legacy was evidenced in the hundreds and hundreds of people who traveled from all over Bolivia for his 5 memorial services.

Raul, thank you for your example of a life well lived. You ran the race. You fought the good fight. And now you are in the presence of Jesus Christ, the Savior you loved so much and preached so frequently about. We your church and all those whose lives you touched will miss you deeply.